Michelangelo
by SilverLight7
Summary: Reflections on Michelangelo by his family.
1. Genius

Well, here we are. The first chapter of five for this little project. As stated before, these will be reflections on Michelangelo done by his family.

Up first is dear Donatello's thoughts on the orange-clad turtle.

Anyway, read on. I hope you enjoy.

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Genius

"_Genius is that energy which collects, combines, amplifies, and animates."_

_~ Samuel Johnson_

It was common knowledge that he was a genius.

This thought lightly danced inside one turtle's mind as he watched his brothers in a rare moment of relaxation. Raphael and Michelangelo were wrestling on the floor, a long forgotten remote control lying no more than two feet away, while Leonardo and Master Splinter watched them both from the couch. The first had an exasperated, yet amused expression on his face, and the second had a soft smile. He really did enjoy these times, especially now that they were becoming scarce due to all their recent troubles. Speaking of which, he needed to do some maintenance on the lair's security system…

What had he been thinking of again?

"What the fu-_shell_, Mike!"

"Temper, Raphie. No need to get upset over my awesome skill."

"Skill? Ya ripped the move right off the guy on TV! Talk about unoriginal!"

Oh, right.

Everyone seemed to think him a genius…At least, that's what it felt like to him at times. Not a day could go by without him being reminded of this in some form, be it by a simple phone call from April just to engage in some miscellaneous techno-babble, or by being trusted to hack into some of the most advanced systems in the world in a matter of minutes as if it were nothing. He was smart. It was how things had been ever since he first became aware of himself. It was what he was best at.

However, he also knew that there were many different types of "genius," and sometimes, he couldn't help but feel like the world had chosen the wrong one to watch.

He embodied the intellectual genius. His knowledge in the scholarly remained unrivalled by all but a scant few, and his skill with technology was often something that left even his enemies, who had so much more to work with compared to him, in reluctant respect. He worked hard, constantly gathering any and all information he could, knowing that even the most obscure fact could be important in the future. It was useful, and dangerous, but he was all right with that.

It was the other kind of genius that scared him.

This train of thought did not strike him often, as he was almost always busy with something, but in those rare moments when he had nothing to do and was simply left alone to _think_, he would always feel his thoughts drift toward his younger brother.

He knew that Michelangelo was the last person who crossed anyone's mind when they thought of the word genius. His brother's carefree- borderline foolish, he had to admit- nature did little to set this image in the eyes of others. Which was probably why everyone who had fought against him seriously always seemed so surprised when they, inevitably, lost.

He had always known differently, though.

Michelangelo was the sort of genius that, had it been anyone else, would have utterly _terrified_ him. His little brother may not be book smart, tech smart, or any sort of smart that came to mind when one thinks of the word, but his brand of genius was something else altogether…Something far more dangerous if you asked him.

He remembered that, for a while, a bit of an unspoken sore point between him, Leo, and Raph had been the fact that Mikey could goof off so much and still seem to keep up with them in their training sessions. All of them had to constantly work at what they'd learned to be able to execute them so well. Michelangelo didn't have that problem. He would learn how to do something, stop, slack off, then perform the same move the rest of them had been diligently practicing for the past week with a fluidity they hadn't quite reached yet. Raphael passed it off as his high athleticism, Leonardo was of the belief that he secretly trained when no one was there to see, but neither even seemed to consider that he might just have really grasped the concepts that easily. Sure, there would be a forgotten kata now and again, but for the most part, Michelangelo needed very little reminding on how to do something.

Then there was what happened after that initial absorption.

Michelangelo had the habit of altering moves he'd learned- wrestling moves in particular -and make them uniquely his own. Then he would take those altered moves and join them together with other altered moves- or even some normal ones -for a fighting style that even the best had trouble dealing with sometimes.

It wasn't just with the physical either.

Everyone knew that Michelangelo screwed up a lot with technology. He beat Leonardo by just a bit when it came to breaking them. What others failed to notice was that _he never messed up the same way_. As the repairman of the group, he was witness to this strange phenomenon. Lately, the things the youngest had brought in to fix were broken in such a way that he had to wonder whether or not his brother had broken them on purpose. Perhaps in an attempt to see how they worked…?

He shook his head with a smile. Now _that_ was a little farfetched.

Not that Michelangelo couldn't figure them out if he really wanted to. He definitely had the mental capacity for it. It was just that that sort of thing didn't interest him. He was glad for it, in a way. If he were to apply himself and use that talent of his, then there was a good chance Michelangelo could very well become the best of them…but doing it would be at the expense of that bright spark only he seemed to possess.

He wasn't going to lie. Spending most of their lives in the sewers stunk in more ways than one. Michelangelo made it just a little more bearable for all of them, even if he did get on their nerves more often than not. So while a stronger, smarter little brother wouldn't be a terrible thing (he wouldn't worry so much about him doing something stupid, at any rate), he much preferred how things were now.

"Hello~! Earth to Donnie! You in there?"

"Huh?"

Mikey laughed.

"I've been calling you for like, five minutes, dude."

"Oh. Sorry, Mikey."

He looked around, surprised to find the living room empty.

"Where'd everyone go?"

"Let's see…Raphie's blowin' off some steam topside since he couldn't seem to beat me, Leo went after him, Master Splinter went to his room, I'm not really sure where _you_ were this whole time, but you're here now and I am too!"

He shook his head at the last part while Mikey grinned.

"Anyway, you wanna come with me and grab some pizzas for dinner?"

"Isn't it a little…early for dinner?"

"Not by the time we get back. You've been wanting to go look for some parts for a while now, haven't you? Let's go there first."

"What brought this on?"

Mikey shrugged.

"Feel like it."

It was tempting. Very tempting…

"I really should check up on the security-"

"Come on, Donnie! You'll turn into an albino turtle at this rate-!"

Did those even exist? He'd have to look into that…

"And no researching albino turtles until _after_ we get back! You need some good old New York quality air."

He couldn't quite stop the snort here.

"What's 'quality' about it?"

This only seemed to make his brother's grin widen.

"Can't be worse than down here."

"…True."

"Besides, you check up on security so much even Leo has trouble getting passed it. The lair'll be fine alone for a few hours."

"Well…"

"Great! Let's go!"

He was already being dragged toward the door.

"Be back later, Master Splinter!" Mikey called out. "We'll bring pizzas!"

Mikey waited just long enough for a response before continuing on. Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be working on anything else today, he decided to just go along.

"…Leo has trouble getting passed my security?"

Even if it wasn't directed at him, Michelangelo's cackles always made him wary.

"Did I ever tell you about the time he…"

As the ramble continued, he smiled. Things were definitely better with a cheerful, goofy Mikey. Still, his genius was a scary thing. It was a good thing he wasn't the ambitious kind…

He shuddered to think what someone like the Shredder would do with that sort of talent.

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Now for a few closing words.

I'm sure some of you might disagree on what I wrote. However, I find there to be quite a bit of evidence that supports Mikey being a genius in his own right. Not one like Donnie, obviously, but one of a different sort.

How else would he be able to keep up with his brothers like he seems to do if he always slacks off so much?

I did take a few liberties, granted, but this is a fan fiction. I consider it very mild a change, seeing as other TMNT fics I've read make the turtles abuse one another or something like that. I mean, really? They're the only ones of their kind. A group like that is bound to be close, not abusive.

That being said, I did feel the ending was a bit lackluster. I suppose it's because the first half of this was written while I was actually watching the show, so their personalities and such were fresh in my mind. I should probably go back and re-watch it for the next chapters.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you thought. Take care!

_Next Chapter: Strength_


	2. Strength

Well, here we are at chapter two. I'm glad for the positive feedback on the last chapter, sorry this took so long to get here. Oh, real quick, I said this was going to be five chapters last time but I made a mistake. This is only going to be four chapters long. One chapter for each member of his family. I apologize for the mistake.

Anyway, this time it's Raphael's turn to speak his mind. Should be interesting, eh? I find it funny that I got sudden inspiration for this while reading Digimon fics and listening to Spanish music. It literally hit me out of nowhere and I was like: "Oh _hell _yes! _Finally_!"

You have no idea how much I was struggling with Raph. I don't care if it's midnight and I have work tomorrow, I'm writing this _now_.

Please read on and enjoy.

**Warning: contains some cursing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ninja Turtles. **(I _knew_ I was forgetting something last time…)

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Strength

"_The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."_

_~Mohandas K. Gandhi_

If there was one thing Raphael could say he was proud of, it was his strength.

Day after day, he would remain in the training room far after the others had gone- except perhaps Leo. That jerk didn't count though, because he had no life other than training and railroading him from doing anything fun.

Speaking of killjoys...

"-You know it's dangerous to head outside right now! Of all the stupid things to do-"

"I ain't gonna stay here, hidin' away like some coward! If I run into some Foot or Purple Dragons, they sure ain't gonna be able to tell anyone when I get through with'm!"

This only seemed to make Leonardo's gaze darken. "So you would kill them? You would forsake Master Splinter's teachings and use our martial arts to kill in anger and revenge?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Sure sounded like it."

"Yea? Then I guess you're stupid _and_ deaf. Tch, I don't need this. I'm outta here."

"Don't you dare walk out that do-Raph! _Raphael_!"

Raphael didn't pay Leonardo any attention as the door slammed shut behind him.

The trip topside didn't seem to take long at all- as was usually the case after one of their fights. Still, it was with no small amount of relief that Raph perched himself on the roof of a building and watched the day slowly fade to dusk. New York was dank, dirty, smoggy, and smelly, but compared to being in the sewers all the time, it was a breath of fresh air.

It was _freedom_.

"Leo can be so uptight sometimes, huh?"

Raphael hadn't sensed him coming, which annoyed him, but he gave no reaction either. He would have to make sure to train some more when he got back, but for now, he just sighed in irritation.

"What're ya doin' here, Mike? Go home."

"Mmm, nope!"

He frowned. Mikey grinned.

"It ain't a request."

"I know."

There was a pause.

"How'd you get out, anyway?"

"I think you are underestimating the sneakiness, Sir."

The frown turned into a grimace. The way Michelangelo had said that sounded like he had something stuck down his throat.

"What the hell was _that_?"

"What, the sir thing? I got it from a movie-"

"Not that, the voice."

"It's my Spanish accent. You like?"

"It's shit."

The younger turtle's grin fell. "Well _damn_, Raph. Tell me what you _really_ thought."

Raphael couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face. It might have had something to do with the cursing. Mikey only seemed to do so in his presence, after all. He never called him out on it either, like Leo- or Donnie at times. Not that he cared what they thought. It was just annoying.

Hmm, what would their fearless leader think if Mike started cussing out a storm in front of him...?

"Fuckity-fuck-fuck-buck-in-a-shitty-truck."

He was forcefully brought out of his thoughts and burst into laughter when the words registered. "What was _that_?"

"You were thinking about me cursing, weren't you? I just thought I'd play along."

"And how'd you know what I was thinking?"

"You had this look- like the kind I get when I think of a really good prank. Wasn't that hard to figure out." He puffed his chest out a bit. "I _am_ the king of pranks, after all."

"Sure."

"It's true!"

"Right."

Mikey pouted. "You're no fun."

He knew he shouldn't have let the comment affect him so much, but given what happened earlier, he couldn't stop the scowl.

"Leo's the one you should say that to," he bit out. "Thinkin' he can control every little thing..."

Just like that, the light mood that had formed around them faded. Mikey sighed and settled down next to him, letting silence take hold for a few minutes. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"What? You gonna tell me off too? Gonna tell me that I should stay down there? Cuz if you are, Mike, I swear-"

"Whoa, there! Hang on, dude, I wasn't thinking that at all!" He grinned again. "I'm out here, aren't I? You really think I would be if I was?"

"So you think Leo's full o' crap too."

"I didn't say that."

"So which is it?" he growled.

"A bit of both, to be honest."

He looked at Mikey, only to see that grin widen.

"I think Leo's just worried. He has a point in it being more dangerous up here- the Foot and the Dragons have been really active lately -but I also think he's being a real jerk about it."

"If he's so worried, why won't he do somethin' about it?"

"Like get rid of them for good?"

"Why not?" He exclaimed, anger rising. "After all the things they've done, they deserve it! Ya can't tell me they don't have it coming!" He grew angrier at his brother's silence. "They destroy families, Mike! They sell drugs! Steal! Kill innocent people! They're no good, and if we don't get ridda them, who will?"

"The police-"

"They don' do shit an' you know it! Tell me ya never wanted to hurt one. Kill one after they shoot some lady and her kid on the street..."

He saw Michelangelo bite his lip and felt a bit of guilt rise up in him. He quickly pushed it down. There was no suppressing his shock at Mikey's next words, though.

"I could have."

"...What?"

The orange clad turtle looked uncomfortable, which told Raph that this was probably something he hadn't told anyone.

"I was on a pizza run...Just me, because things were kind of on the downside as far as crime went...There were some Dragons in an alley, finishing up a deal...Right as they finish, they find some homeless kid hiding by some trashcans..." Mikey looked away, face in uncharacteristic anguish. "They shot him on the spot. Said he was a liability..."

Raph felt his breath hitch, but before he could say anything, the other continued.

"I saw red. He was just a kid, Raph...Anyway, next thing I know, I got the guy that fired by the throat and the others are unconscious...I could have killed him...There was nothing and no one there to stop me..."

"...Why didn't you?"

"...He said he was sorry."

"What? Mike, if you were to let every guy that said he was sorry go-"

"He meant it."

"You don't know that!"

"Not at the time, no...but after he said that...I just _couldn't_...I forgave him and let him go."

"And he went right back to a life of crime."

Mikey smiled slightly. "He runs a bakery on Third, actually. He donates money to the local orphanages every month."

He was momentarily taken aback by this revelation, but once he got his bearings, he frowned. "That's one in a million, Mike. That ain't gonna happen every time."

"No...but who are we to decide what happens to them? If I killed him then, he would have died a criminal-"

"So now he dies a murderer that got away with it. Great."

Mikey laughed, but it was still a bit subdued. "Maybe you have a point..." He looked up at the sky, a few stars twinkling above them. "But...I'm kinda relieved I didn't go through with it...A life's a life, you know? I would've felt guilty if I'd killed him."

He wasn't sure he did understand, if he were to be honest. Why feel guilt if you were stopping one more person from doing horrible things? It struck him then that this was the difference between them. Michelangelo forgave the man, while he had half a mind to find him and make him pay. It didn't matter if he was a baker now, he was still scum for shooting a kid.

...He remembered Master Splinter telling them once that it took more strength to forgive someone than to resort to violence. He didn't think much of it at the time, but hearing this...Did it mean Mikey was stronger than him?

Said turtle looked at him and grinned widely, back to his cheerful self.

He stood up and challenged him to a race home, laughing at Mike's protests of him having a head start. By the time he got there, his mind was leaning toward the affirmative, but for once, this didn't bother him. He supposed he could live with having someone be stronger than him in one thing.

He rethought this, of course, when he discovered Mikey had beaten him home and proceeded to tell Leonardo of all the words "Raphie taught me," as he put it.

**Chapter End** **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chapter End**

Finished this at 2:22, heck yea.

Hope you'll forgive me for not adding more here (and going over this with spell check) at the end, but I'm going to sleep. Later.

Next up will be: _Perspective_


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